LA Bound

The ultrasound yesterday morning showed both babies still doing well, but that things had progressed into stage 2 TTTS. Baby B has little to no fluid left in his sac and for the first hour of the ultrasound they could not find a bladder. At the very end we thought we saw something that maybe could have been a bladder filling up a tiny bit, but if it was indeed a bladder it was miniscule. Baby A, on the other hand, has a huge swimming pool of amniotic fluid...so much so that it is pushing up against my lungs and ribs to the point where I am always out of breath and in a significant amount of pain all day long.

After researching our options, and on the recommendation of my MFM (the specialist that has been monitoring me throughout this pregnancy), we are scheduled to meet with the surgeon in Los Angeles on Monday morning and spend the day there for an ultra sound, consult, fetal echocardiogram and prepping for surgery. The surgery is scheduled for Tuesday morning at 10 am and then we will stay in the hospital that night. They will check on the babies the next morning and if everything looks ok, we will be on our way back home! 

We feel so blessed with the timing of all of this. The wonderful Sarah (Michael's fiance) is arriving this afternoon for a trip that has been scheduled forever it seems like and she is up to the challenge of running the household while we are in LA for the surgery. We know this is not by chance but by divine design. Lucky for us, her trip is scheduled to last all the way through the week, so we will have her help as we get home as well. We have had so many willing friends and neighbors who are taking such good care of us both physically and emotionally. I tear up every time I look at my phone or turn on my computer because my inboxes are brimming with notes of love and support and prayers for our little family.

While I certainly wouldn't have chosen this trial (as if we get pick), I am so grateful for the lessons I am learning about faith, patience, service and recognizing the tender mercies of our Heavenly Father that are so abundant. In the face of all that is going on, I know that whatever the outcome, our family will be ok. I see the hand of the Lord guiding our little journey hundreds of times throughout the day and just feel overwhelmed at how blessed we are! It has been difficult to share the details and uncertainty of the situation with our kids, but their little faithful hearts are inspiring to me. They have been so wonderful about all the shuffling around from place to place. They are trying hard to be helpful about cleaning the house and taking care of their own needs and each others needs while Mom is busy talking to Doctors and Nurses on the phone. I am blessed to have such wonderful little souls in my care and look forward to things settling down a bit, so I can give them the love and attention they need and not feel like such a frenzied mess.

We are very hopeful that the surgery will go well and that the boys will be able to stabilize and recover and keep cooking for at least a few more weeks before they make their appearance. We are in very skilled and caring hands and our situation is fairly mild in comparison to many TTTS cases because it developed late and we caught it early. Our surgeon is one of the very best in the nation with amazingly high success rates. You can actually watch a segment showing him performing the surgery we will have here. It is incredible that this technology exists and to be honest, I am so excited to see MY babies on the screen like that (I will be awake for most of the surgery and able to see what they are seeing in the scope - so incredible). My biggest worry right now is really the recovery. The incision is so small that they don't even need to stitch it up, just seal it with some surgical glue, so it won't be difficult or painful in that way. I will have to minimize my activity after the surgery, however, and won't be able to pick up Ellie, do much cleaning, or do any packing at all. With a very active 19 month old, our move only 4.5 weeks out and my I-want-to-be-an-over-achiever personality, this will be extremely difficult for me, but I am grateful for the sweet friends who have been so insistent that they want to help because I know I will have to rely on them a lot.

So many of you have asked how you can help, and we would like to ask anyone who would like and is able, to join us in a fast for our little ones tomorrow (Sunday February, 24). We know that there is strength and power in prayer and fasting! I will continue posting updates to the blog throughout the week as I am able.